Killer Instinct
by DittyWrites
Summary: Jonathan Crane is a hitman who is willing to take on any job. Edward Nygma is a man with a price on his head. What will happen when Jonathan is hired to assassinate the unsuspecting Nygma? What started out as an easy job soon becomes more complicated as he stalks the man and makes a few interesting observations about his target. But will he be able to go through with it?


**(A/N) Hey, so this idea has been in my head for a few days now. In Scarecrow: Year One it is confirmed that Jonathan Crane spent time as a hitman before he fully adopted the Scarecrow persona.** **This is just a nifty little AU which asks what would have happened if he had been hired to kill Edward Nygma. For Nygmas' backstory i'm using the Batman: The Animated Series canon in which he is betrayed after creating his game (The Riddle Of The Minotaur) but in this story he has not become the Riddler yet and is still just Edward Nygma.** **Reviews are always appreciated 3**

Walking up to the office building, Jonathan pulled his thin coat closer around his body as he was met with the harsh winds which were prone to sweeping through Gotham at this time of night. He had received an invitation from a man named Mockridge for use of his 'services' in eliminating a nuisance. If someone had told Jonathan ten years ago that in a decade he would be a rather successful hitman with over ten kills to his name,who also specialised in frightening his victims to death, he would have laughed in their face. But life is cruel, Jonathans' current predicament was excellent evidence of that and he was not going to say no to a decent paycheck. By his estimations, he was very close to reaching the target amount of money which he would need to set up and run his own private laboratory so that he could begin experimenting on and producing his precious toxin. Once his enemies had been eliminated he would be free to continue to work as he pleased, but first things first, he needed the necessary funds.

Walking through the entrance, he was met by a stocky woman who informed him that Mr Mockridge would meet him in a few minutes and that he was free to wait in his office. Jonathan accepted her invitation and took a seat in one of the large armchairs which littered the expensively decorated office. He was idly flicking through a business magazine and counting the ostentatious awards which lined the walls when the man himself entered the room. Mockridge was a small man and he had all the visible signs of a person who suffering from extreme stress. He flinched slightly as Jonathan stood up, his impressive height allowing him to tower over the tiny man. Smirking internally, Jonathan spoke. "Good evening. Mr Mockridge."

"Good evening..umm," he paused, "what should I call you?"

"It is unimportant. This is not a social call. There is no need for us to be properly introduced."

"Umm okay then. Well then i suppose we should get to business. I need you to kill a man for me." Mockridge said quietly as his eyes darted around the room. "The name is in this envelope along with half the payment. You will receive the other half when he's dead."

Jonathan picked up the small envelope from the table and opened it slowly. Inside was a name, address and a small photograph. Ignoring the information, he stared at the photograph. The man in question appeared to be entirely average which surprised him greatly as the type of people Jonathan was usually hired to kill were gang members or questionable businessmen. This man appeared to be neither. He looked to be about six foot tall, with an average build and reddish hair. Not unattractive either, with classically handsome features and bright green eyes. He was only a few years younger than Jonathan himself too which was also odd. Generally he was accustomed to killing folk of his own age or even much older, this was the first time he had been requested to kill someone younger. He did not tend to ask questions about his targets but this one had really caught his attention.

"And what has this man done to deserve death?" Jonathan asked curiously as he tucked the information inside his jacket. He would do his own research later to gain further insight into the man and to also make sure he wasn't walking into a pre-arranged trap.

Mockridge narrowed his eyes. "Why does it matter? I thought hitmen had a strict policy against asking questions? Why I want him dead is none of your business."

"Do you see this?" Jonathan plucked out a small canister from his pocket. "This is my own unique chemical composition which I have lovingly named 'Fear Toxin'. I designed this formula especially to punish those who have wronged me in my life. One dose of this will cause an individual to begin hallucinating their most deeply-held fears. Fear is such a fascinating thing." He smirked. "It rules our lives and governs almost every single one of our decisions. One of the unfortunate side-effects of this toxin is that it can also cause death if the individual is given an incorrect dose or placed under enough stress." He paused to return the toxin to his pocket. "This is only a crude version of the toxin so I haven't quite worked out the correct dose to prevent death but I do have plans to expand in the future after I have achieved my revenge on those select few who deserve it. But if you continue to be less than cordial to me I will take a gamble and show you the power of the toxin and judging from your already twitchy behaviour, I do not imagine that you will last very long under its effects. Would you like your greatest fears presented to you?"

As his speech continued, Jonathan could see Mockridges' nervousness increasing. By the time he finished the man was a quivering wreck. "N-no there will be no need for that. To answer your question more politely, the man in question was a former employee of mine who has been making threats against me since we released a game which he claims to have invented."

"Judging from the fact that you have hired me instead of contacting the police, I gather that his threats are valid? Seems a shame to have a man murdered over something so petty."

"Well...technically he did invent the game but I felt that since I was producing it, I should have the full rights to it. And if I have the full rights then there would be no need to share the profits. So i fired him."

"So you betrayed a former employee who now wants revenge and you've hired me to eliminate him for you?" Jon summarised.

"Yes." Mockridge paused. "Will that be an issue?"

"Not at all. I just like to know what i'm dealing with." Jonathan straightened up as he prepared to leave. "If everything goes well then he will be dead within the week."

"A week?! Why so long? I need him dead now?" Mockridge yelled. "Did you miss the part where I said he was making threats against me?"

"I like to keep tabs on my hits for a while for reasons which are entirely my own." Jonathan said firmly. Even though he was removed from his teaching position, he still loved being able to conduct experiments on unaware participants and his work as a hitman made this particular joy much easier to accommodate. "This is a non-negotiable aspect of this exchange."

"Whatever. I just need him dead before he can do anything to me or my company."

"Done. I have never failed a client yet Mr Mockridge. Mr Nygma is no longer your concern."


End file.
